In February, he signed with Boston to provide bullpen help and the option of spot starting. With Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz on the disabled list, Capuano would seem precisely in the spot he had imagined: an available starter to bring experience and reliability to the rotation.

Instead, Boston called up Brandon Workman after Doubront went down. Buchholz' injury had the Red Sox rummaging through Pawtucket again, with two unproven big league starters (Rubby De La Rosa, Anthony Ranaudo) and one who has struggled (Allen Webster) the favorites as a late-Thursday decision loomed.

It is a compliment to Capuano, not a diss. His 1.95 ERA speaks to his value in a bullpen that has needed him more than anyone had expected.

Pitching for the first time in the league where pitchers don't bat, Capuano's walks per nine innings is 3.6, its highest level since 2005. But his strikeouts-per-nine of 8.1 is flirting with his career high of 8.2, set in his first full season in 2004.

"I'm enjoying the camaraderie in the bullpen. I like the every-day throwing program,'' Capuano said.

"There is more side work, so there's more chance to work on my pitches. That's a plus.''

On Thursday, Red Sox manager John Farrell ruled out Capuano as a Buchholz replacement.

"I think at this point he's become such a valuable member in that bullpen, and we're nearly two months away from spring training,'' Farrell said.

"He would need probably three days of no pitching leading up to a potential start and then be limited to 55 or 60 pitches. So right now, he's not an option for Saturday. “

"Being on call every night is mentally exhausting,'' Capuano said. "But on the other hand, it's good to be developing a new skill set.''

That's because the 1996 Cathedral High School graduate turns 36 in August. Aging starters are often cast aside, but healthy left-handed relievers can pitch into their 40s.

Stories titled "Hometown Kid Comes Back'' often flop, but Capuano's return to New England has exceeded even the more optimistic expectations. He opened the season with 15 straight scoreless innings, and for a time led the majors in most innings by an unscored-upon pitcher.

With Boston's starters struggling to escape the middle innings, Capuano's multiple-inning ability has saved the pen on many nights.

On Wednesday, he showed why the Red Sox have every reason to keep him in the bullpen. Taking over for John Lackey with a 3-0 lead in the seventh, Capuano entered with what this career starter had rarely known until this year - inherited baserunners.

After dodging a dangerously splintered bat from Jason Heyward, he walked B.J. Upton to load the bases. Then he fell behind 3-1 to Freddie Freeman, a man Capuano knew well from his National League days.

"That sort of history and background helps. It makes the scouting process easier,'' Capuano said.

The count went full and the Fenway fans rose to their feet. It was just the moment Capuano must have envisioned hundreds of times, growing up as a Red Sox fan in West Side.

Freeman grounded out and the rally was quashed. Capuano had again shown why the Red Sox value his average of 19.5 pitches per game (ranging from five to 39) more than 90 to 105 he might thrown on any one night as a starter.

The starters were expected to come from the farm system or maybe by trade. The Red Sox were scouting the Cubs' Jeff Samardzija last week.

And Capuano? Rather than consider himself a prisoner of his own success in relief, he accepted waiting for the bullpen phone to ring.

"I'm definitely more comfortable in relief than I was when the season started,'' he said. "As long as I'm contributing, that's what I really want.''